Work in the chemical industry

GENEVA – Governments, employers’ and workers’ delegates from more
than 30 countries meet in Geneva from 26-28 November 2013 to discuss a
series of issues related to the chemical industry, including ways to
promote employment and training, occupational safety and health, and
corporate social responsibility.

"The global economic crisis
has led to job losses in the chemical industry, which employs nearly 20
million people worldwide. But at the same time the economic slowdown has
given the industry opportunities to introduce new initiatives that are
resulting in more and better jobs,” said Alette van Leur, Director of
the ILO’s Sectoral Activities Department.

"This meeting will provide an excellent platform to discuss some of these ideas as well as the challenges ahead,” she added.

An ILO paper
prepared for the meeting highlights the strategic importance of the
chemical industry for national economies. It identifies the shortage of
skilled workers and scientists as one of the most pressing challenges
but it also shows that several countries have already taken measures to
address them.

Varies from country to country but seems to be low – i.e. between 4.0 per cent in Kuwait and 50.3per cent in Cyprus

Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs):

96 per cent of all chemical companies are in the EU. SMEs provided 37 per cent of all jobs and generated 30 per cent of sales

Death due to exposure to dangerous substance (2008):

651,279 people

For example, the ILO and the Russian Federation have developed a
partnership to implement innovative skills development programmes in
Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

The Educate to Innovate
campaign in the United States – launched in 2009 – aims to improve
education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM),
while countries from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) – which also
face a shortage of skilled workers in the oil, gas and chemical
industries – have poured millions of funds into training.

At
the same time, some countries are stepping up efforts to increase decent
and productive work in the chemical industry by reducing health, safety
and environmental risks. In the European Union, over half of all small
and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the sector currently offer green
products or services, while countries in South America are investing
heavily in greener technologies.

The three-day conference
follows a decision adopted by the March 2011 session of the ILO
Governing Body to hold a global meeting on decent and productive work in
the chemical industry.